Durst Unveils The Truth

New song shows band taking a cue from disbanded activist rap-rockers. Fred Durst seems to be all about the truth these days.
In postings on Limp Bizkit’s Web site (which lately is little more than a blog housing the red-cap-loving frontman’s rantings), Durst has revealed details here and there about his band’s forthcoming opus, The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1). In one recent musing, he writes: “I love the truth. That’s what it’s all about. No bells and whistles. No sugarcoating the truth. For some, it could be a bit too much to comprehend. F— ’em.”

In addition to being truthful, the band’s new album is also “very heavy,” he told MTV News recently, noting an obvious correlation between the sound of the new disc and the return of original guitarist Wes Borland .

“The record is not diverse. Not one ounce,” he said of the May 3 release. “It is a brutal, brutal reality check for ourselves. We needed to get it out of us, and me and Wes realized that I’m the best producer for him, he’s the best guitar player for me. It’s just that way. This is the best work he’s ever done. It’s Wes’ record to shine. It’s all guitars, it’s all brutal. It’s not what fair-weather Limp Bizkit fans are ever going to have wanted, and I love that.”

Bizkit fans can get a preview of the new material via a video posted on the band’s site for the song “The Truth.” In the six-and-a-half-minute clip, shot in the Bizkit’s studio and said to document the “first time Limp Bizkit has performed together since Wes left,” a shirtless Borland — two pieces of black tape forming an “X” over his right nipple — bops around a shady studio in front of John Otto’s drum set (although, the video’s so dark, Dave Grohl could be behind the kit, and we’d never know) along with bassist Sam Rivers and Durst, who sports an Army jacket, aviator goggles and bright red kicks.

The song itself is vintage Borland Bizkit — menacing guitar riffs, throbbing bass lines and hardcore drums. Missing, however, are the shrill vocal stylings of Mr. Durst. Instead, Fred does his best Zack de la Rocha impression, singing, “You can’t sleep/ You’re restless/ And slightly obsessed with falling too deep/ You’re malfunction, you’re a virus/ Whose intention is f—-ing up something/ You’re a crater on the face of a problem that’s greater.”

Before launching into the verse “Our Father, who art in heaven/ Hallowed be thy name/ Deliver me from evil,” he recites the song’s refrain, “Imagine accepting the truth.”

Durst told MTV News that Rage Against the Machine were a source of inspiration for the record. “Emotionally, I was affected a lot by [Rage],” he said. “Not specifically the literal intention of the words or what it was about, but the feel, the sound, those phrases that got me. I believe this [album] is exactly where they left off.”